Reflecting on Flipped Learning

Video Transcription

Welcome to a tutorial on reflecting on flipped learning.

In today's tutorial, we will discuss how can we reflect on concepts related to flipped learning. And we will use some sample lessons that we've discussed in previous tutorials to do this. So let's start with a reminder of flipped learning. What are the elements of flipped learning?

And here in these four rectangles, you will see the four pillars of flipped learning. The F, which is that Flexible learning environment. Making sure that you have a very flexible classroom and flexible groupings.

The L is the Learning culture shift, making sure that as an instructor you are aware that the learning should be student-driven and student-centered and not so teacher-directed during the classroom time.

The I is that Intentional content, making sure that as a teacher you are very purposeful and intentional in both the homework or the technological tools that you're using before class, like videos or tutorials that students watch. But also in that class time, making sure that you're using one-on-one time efficiently in small and large group settings.

The P is for Professional educators, making sure that we are doing reflecting and collaborating as instructors on our own. So let's use these four pillars of flipped learning and apply it to a lesson and reflect on that lesson. And we will use a lesson here that we've used in a previous tutorial. And this is on the Pythagorean theorem where the teacher makes their own tutorial on the Pythagorean theorem, inserting some areas in the tutorial where students need to pause so that they can attempt some practice problems.

After the tutorial, the students' assignment will be to summarize the Pythagorean theorem and when they might use this in their own words as well as write down any of the problems that were tough for them during that tutorial. This is the homework section of this lesson.

The class time will consist of students getting into groups and reading their summary from the night before's tutorial for their group. As well as going over any of the challenging problems that they had from the tutorial together, so that they can practice as a group and go through those problems with each other. And then they will be practicing Pythagorean theorems by using different objects, like their shoes or pieces of string, wood, any materials from the class to make it fun and engaging. So they'll calculate that unknown side of their triangles that they make using right angles of different objects.

And then students will use some digital cameras to document and create a group poster to display in the classroom. So a really fun and engaging and an active learning lesson.

This lesson in particular uses those four pillars of flipped learning very well for the most part. For example, the F, remember, is that Flexible learning environment. And here, the teacher is using some different groupings where the students are using hands-on activities. And the classroom is not that very orderly, traditional, students sitting at a desk and working by themselves. But instead, they're using some group.

The learning culture shift here is really obvious as well. The students are, in both the homework and the class time, asked to take that ownership and responsibility for their learning. And the teacher does a great job of using intentional content in the tutorial.

Remember, it is a teacher-made tutorial. So that teacher really knows their students and is able to make a tutorial that is directed to that actual class, which is a great tool in making sure that content is really intentional and effective.

One thing to keep in mind though is that not all students will have that access to technology, so doing something like recording the tutorial and putting it on a thumb drive or a DVD so that students have some different options for watching the tutorial is a great alternative. As well as making it maybe available on a class website where they're able to access it at a public library or their school library before class or after class.

Another element of the four pillars of flipped learning that's not necessarily apparent in this particular lesson is the element of reflection and assessment for the instructor. Making it more clear in our lesson plan what we will be using for assessments would be very beneficial and maybe having something before the lesson actually begins. We do have an assignment that goes along with the homework that is part of the formative assessment process, but maybe asking the students what they already know before they begin about the Pythagorean theorem would be helpful so that we can take that information and make our tutorial even more effective.

We could even better our flexible learning environment as well by making sure that as a teacher, we are using that time, that group time, to pull students out that are having trouble and give them some one-on-one with us as the teacher. So another idea to better that flipped learning lesson plan.

One way that we can reflect as teachers on flipped learning is by using the two-by-two feedback model. And remember, this consists of giving two compliments and two suggestions for improvement. So when we use this two-by-two feedback model to reflect on our flipped learning lesson, we want to make sure that we are asking ourselves, what two things went really well? Why did they work well? Or how did we know that these things were working or were effective for us?

And on the other side, we want to ask ourselves, what two things need changing or improvement? What were the challenges that arose with those two things? Or, how might you change those things for next time you're teaching using this flipped learning lesson?

So let's apply these to our lesson that we just went over. What are two things that went well?

Well, let's say in this lesson students were really able to easily understand and follow the tutorial or homework. Making a teacher-made tutorial worked really well for this group of students. They give us good feedback. They were able to pause. They did not have many questions about the tutorial. And they all did their work, which is the most important thing.

The students were also really engaged and made connections during our hands-on activity. And as a teacher, we were able to walk around during the small group time and really observe these connections and hear about them firsthand how they were thinking and connecting.

On the other side of things, if we asked ourselves, what are two things I can improve? Maybe our advanced students were having a hard time because the homework wasn't very challenging. They could've used some more challenging problems or more options for some advanced practice on the Pythagorean theorem.

And if this were the case, we could have given our students, or our advanced students especially, some options for some websites that we specifically found that gave more advanced Pythagorean theorem practice problems. We could have also allowed for a few questions at the end of the tutorial for those students that needed a little extra challenge. Maybe some challenge or extra credit problems.

Maybe some of our students found the hands-on activity confusing. Even though there were some connections being made and the students were engaged, and that was a positive, we noticed that there were some lower-level learners that were having a hard time with the hands-on aspect of it, the abstract thinking involved. So here we could have made sure that we gave our students a bit more of a chance to practice in class by doing some problems on the board as a class before we went over and did the group assignment.

So you can see here by this example that even though we had a great flipped learning lesson and we were able to find some positive things about our lesson in our reflection, there are always things that we can improve upon. So it's important to really dig deep and find those areas that can make it better for your students in the future. So let's talk about what we learned today.

Today, we discussed how we can reflect on the concepts related to flipped learning. It's important to make sure that as you go through these flipped learning lessons that you are using all four of the pillars of flipped learning-- the flexible learning environment, the learning culture shift, the intentional content, and the fact that you really need to be a professional educator throughout.

Using the two-plus-two model for feedback is a really great way to reflect on your flipped learning lessons. I've enjoyed talking about these ideas with you today, and I hope you're able to use some great reflection tools on your own flipped learning lessons.

Let's apply these ideas by reflecting with these questions. What might the challenges be in reflecting on your use of flipped learning? Who can you collaborate with to help you better reflect?

Now it's your turn to apply what you've learned in this video. The additional resources section will be super-helpful. This section is designed to help you discover useful ways to apply what you've learned here. Each link includes a brief description so you can easily target the resources you want.